Aeroplane



c. F'. NAYER.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. I7, 1919.

1,382,847 Patented June 28 wm.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. F. NAYEII.

AEROPLANE. I :APPLICATION FILED JAN. I7, |919.

Ptnted June 28, 192.1.:

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

@4a/#MLM UNITED stares PATENT QEFFIQE.

CARL F. kN LYEL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AEROPLANE.

'Application led January 17, 1919. Serial No. 271,573.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CARL F. Nerim, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of illinois, have invented a certain new and useful `improvement in Aeropla-nes, ot' which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying` drawings, forming a part oi' this specification.

My invention relates to aeroplanes and has to do more particularly with planes of the characterI in which movable planes are provided preferably rotatable about a given axis but maintained in a horizontal or substantially horizontal alinement. Thatis, l provide a series of planes which are` mounted upon rotatable spiders, the planes being adjustable so that they may be varied from. horizontal to oblique angles, the planes being provided with so called feathering surfaces so that the downward movement of the plane during its rotation is effective to lift the aeroplane while the upward movement of the plane does not retard the move ment of the aeroplane due to the feathering action thereof. Another feature of my in vention is the provision of rotatable planes of the above character which are arranged in series and so controlled that the machine may be readily turned either while stationary or while being driven forward. Another feature of my invention is the provision of adjustable rotatable planes the position of which may be varied so as to permit a straight .lift of the machine, or cause an advance or forward movement of the machine, or cause a forward travel of the machine upwardly or downwardly7 or permit a straight or an inclined downward travel thereof. Other features will be` pointed out more particularly in the ensuing specilication and claims. n

For a better understanding of my inven tion reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pre ferr-ed embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a portion of one of the planes showing more clearly the netting and the vanes carried thereby.

l* 1g. 5 is a section along line 5, of Fig. a

showing the feathering construction;

lig. 6 is a cross section through a planetary gear connection; and

ll 1g. 7 is a section along the line 7, 7 of Fig. 6.

Referring now more in detail to the con struction shown in the drawings l provide a platform 10 supported upon suitable wheels l1 and carrying a power plant preferably in the form of a suitable gasolene ene gine l2 which may be controlled from the operators seat 13.V

flounted above this platform and power plant are series of movable planes which are supported upon a suitable framework including uprights 14, l5 and cross bars 1G, 17. Supported between each pair of cross bars 16, 17 are fore and aft rotatable plane constructions each comprising a shaft i2() carryingV spiders 2l, 22 each lhaving three arms as shown in Fig. 1. Each correspond` ingpair of arms on each spider S21, 22 has a pivotally supported plane A rotatable in the hearing 223. These planes A comprise a lightnietal framework made up of tubing' and having a light net work 2li suitably se cured to the frame and carrying a plurality of vanes or feathers in the form of strips which are pivotally attached to the netting at 217, these strips being of a suitable material such as oiled silk or the like. These feathers may thus be moved downwardly away from the netting as shown in 141g. o or upwardly against the netting bv the air-pressure when the plane .is movinp' downwardly. Thus when the plane moves upwardly in its rotation the feathering strips move away from the netting and do not retard the action of the upward movement of the aeroplane. But when the plane A is moving downwardly during its rotation, these feathering strips 26 move against the surface of the netting and thus are effective tocause a lifting action.

ln operating the machine it is mv intention to maintain these planes A in avdeinite horizontal or definite inclined plane during the rotation of the spider 2l, as will be apparent from Fig. 1 so as to act as lifting planes only or as lifting and driving planes. To this end I provide control mechanism for shiftingpthe planes from their horizontal position to an inclined position in either direction as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. This plane control mechanism preferably comprises an eccentric 25 which is pivotally supported upon the main shaft 20 of the spider 21. This eccentric may be shifted by means of a connecting rod 27 which connects each pair of eccentrics 25 and extends through a bell crank lever 23 and linlr 29 to the operators lever 30. These eccentrics 25 it will be understood are normally stationary, that is, they do not rotate with the shaft 20 but are held in their adjusted position. Rotatably supported upon the eccentric 25 is the eccentric spider 31 each arm of which is pivotally connected to an arm 32 extending downwardly from a plane A. With this construction it will be apparent that as the plane supporting spider 21 is rotated the planes A will be maintained in a predetermined position relative to the axis of rotation depending upon the adjustment of the eccentric 25. These planes A are preferably staggered as will appear from Fig. 1 so that the length of the aeroplane may be reduced to a minimum. Of course, this arrangement may be varied as desired. Y

Now in order to drive these planes A I connect them by suitable gearing with a motor 12V this gearing comprising preferably (Fig. 2) a pair of bevel gears 34, 35, the gears 35 being connected by a shaft 36 which supports a bevel gear 37 in mesh with a second gear 33 connected through a universal joint 39, shaft 40, universal joint 41, and planetary gear connection B to a suitable spiral gear 42 which is connected to the motor 12. It will thus be apparent that when the motor 12 is operated the connected gearing just described drives the planes A. In the above description of the driving mechanism for the planes I have simply referred to one set consisting of fore and aft planes, those positioned upon one side of the machine, but it will be apparent from the drawings that the set of two planes on the other side of the machine are likewise paired andA connected through a similar gearing to the motor. 12. The shafts'40 it will be noted revolve in opposite directions7 as indicated by the arrows thereon but this, of course, is necessary with the particular driving mechanism used for driving both sets of planes in the saine direction.

Now in order to change the direction of forward motion of the machine, I preferably vary the speed of the proper pair of planes. That is, for example if the machine is moving forward and it is desired to turn toward the left, then I either increase the speed of the right set of planes (Fig. 2) or decrease the speed of the left set of planes. @r the speed of one set may be decreased and the speed of the other set increased. However, it is only necessary that the speed of the two sets of planes differ so that a turning to the right or left is brought about.

To vary the speed of the sets of planes I preferably provide a planetary gear transmission as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. This mechanism comprises a casing 44 having a suitable cap 45, the lsaid casing supporting a gear 46 pinned to the shaft 47 which eX- tends to the spiral gear 42. This gear 46 rotates freely within the casing and is connected to three double pinions each coniprising a small gear 48 and larger gar 49. The larger gears 49 areA in turn in mesh with a gear 50 pinned to the shaft 51 which eX- tends to the universal joint 41. This gear 50 it will be noted is smaller and has fewer teeth than the gear 46. This gear 50 supports a plurality of pawls 52 which engage the internal ratchet 53 carried by the gear 46, said pawls being held in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 53, by means of the spiral springs indicated in Fig. 7. Surrounding the casing which supports this gear mechanism is a brake strap 54 conti'olled by the brake lever 55 which when actuated holds the drum44 against rotation so as to `increase the speed of the driven shaft 51.

In the operation of this planetary gear when the driving shaft 47 is rotated in a clockwise direction (Fig. 7), the bralre 54 being off, pawls 52 through their engagement with the ratchet 53 carried by shaft 51, directly drive the shaft 51,botli shafts 47 and 51 and the drum with its gear mechanism rotating as a unit at the saine speed. Now in order to increase the speed of the driven shaft 51, the brake is applied to the drum 44 holding it stationary so that through the action of the gears 46, 48, 49 and 50, the shaft 51 is driven independent of the ratchet and pawl connection and because of the ratio between the gear teeth, shaft 51 rotates at a higher speed than the shaft 4'?. Thus when the brake lever 55 of either planetary gear is operated, the corresponding planes are driven at a higher speed.

It will be noted that, due to the particular arrangement of the driving mechanism. shafts 40 (Fig. 3) revolve in opposite directions. Therefore, the ratchet teeth in the planetary gears are cut in opposite directions.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7 the rotatable planes act as both lifting and driving planes but it is to be understood that. I contemplate otherarrangements. For example, the rotatable planes may be arranged in sets as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but with the axis of rotation parallel to the direction of travel and with each adjacent set of planes rotating in opposite directions and acting Vmerely as lifting rality of lifting planes pivotally supported' one on each arm of the spiders, the planes; on the two spiders being staggered so that the planes of one spider overlap the planes of the other spider during rotation, means for maintaining the planes in parallel posi-` tions throughout their rotation, means for simultaneously changing the angle of all the planes, means whereby said planes are effective throughout only Athe downward movement of their rotation, and said means for changing the angle of the planes being adapted to change the angle of said planes so as to act as driving planes also.

7. An aeroplane including fore and aft spiders rotatable in the direction of travel of the aeroplane on horizontal axes, lifting planes pivotally supported one on each spider arm, the planes of one spider overlapping the planes of the other spider during rotation, means for simultaneously driving the planes in the direction of travel of the aeroplane, and means formaintaining the planes in a denite position relative to the horizontal and parallel to each other, throughout their rotation.

8. An aeroplane including fore and aft spiders rotatable on a horizontal-axis, lifting planes pivotally supported one on each spider arm, said spider arms being staggered so that thefore and aft planes alternately extend between the opposite planes, means for simultaneously driving the planes, and means for maintaining the planes in a position approximately parallel to the horizontal throughout their rotation.

9. An aeroplane including two sets of fore and aft spiders rotatable on a horizontal axis in the direction of travel of the aeroplane, lifting planes pivotally supported one on each spider arm, means for driving the planes, and means for varying the relative speed of the sets of planes.

l0. An aeroplane including two sets of fore and aft spiders rotatable on a horizontal axis in the direction of travel of the aeroplane, lifting planes pivotally supported one on each spider arm, means forV driving the planes, and means including an interposed planetary` gearV transmission for varying the relative speed of the sets of planes. ,l

ll. An aeroplane includingrtwo sets of fore and aft spiders rotatable on a horizontal axis in the direction of travel of the aeroplane, lifting planes pivotally supported one on each spider arm, means for driving the planes, means including an interposed planetary gear transmission for varying the relative 'speed of the sets of planes, and means for varying the position of the planes so as to act as driving and lifting planes.

l2. A driving member for aeroplanes comprising a frame having a netting thereon, pivotally attached vanes or feathers mounted directly on said netting which overlap and lie against the netting during theV driving movement of the plane but fall away from the netting during non-driving movement thereof, an arm supporting the frame and means to maintain the frame at any desired angle with the horizontal regardless of the angular position of the arm.

13. An aeroplane including a rotatable spider, a plane pivotally supported on each arrii of the-spider, an eccentric surrounding the axis of rotation of the spider, and a connection from the eccentric to each plane whereby the planes are held in successive definite positions parallel to each other.

la. An aeroplane including a rotatable spider, a plane pivotally supported on each arm of the spider, an eccentric surrounding 'the axis of rotation of the spider, a connection from the eccentric to each plane whereby the planes are held in successive definite positions parallel to each other, and means for adjusting the eccentric to vary the relation of the planes to the axis of rotation.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 27 th day of November, A. D.

CARL F. Narnia. 

